It suggests that more than two-fifths (42.8 per cent) of education workers have had to deal with violent pupils in the last year - while others have faced insults, threats, bullying and harassment.

Many school staff blame a lack of boundaries at home for poor conduct in lessons, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) poll found, while others suggested that a growing lack of respect in society for people in professional jobs was partly responsible.

One special needs worker at a Bedfordshire primary school said she had been stabbed in the head with a pencil, while a teacher at a Suffolk secondary academy said they had been "sprayed in the face with deodorant". In a third case, a support worker at a secondary school in Cheshire said a chair had been thrown that hit her leg.

"Although the majority of pupils are well-behaved and a pleasure to teach, having to deal with challenging or disruptive behaviour is unfortunately par for the course for education staff."

A teaching assistant at a Rochdale primary school claimed: "Staff are regularly verbally abused with very little consequences. Occasionally pupils physically attack members of staff, but this rarely leaders to a day's exclusion."

The survey, which questioned 1,250 education staff at UK state schools last autumn, found that nearly half (45.5 per cent) think that pupils' behaviour has worsened in the past two years.

Of those who said they had faced physical violence, more than three-quarters (76.5 per cent) said they had experienced pushing and shoving, 37.4 per cent had dealt with punching, 52.4 per cent had faced kicking, 24.1 per cent had dealt with spitting and 2.2 per cent said that pupils had used a weapon, such as a knife.

Many school staff blame a lack of boundaries at home for poor conduct in lessons Photo: Alamy

Around 89.1 per cent of teachers and 90.1 per cent of support workers said they had had to deal with challenging or disruptive behaviour from pupils in the last year. The most common type was verbal abuse - such as insults, threats, swearing, shouting, making accusations and being rude.

Just over half (52.3 per cent) said they had dealt with bullying - such as pupils isolating a classmate from a friendship group or spreading rumours, while a further 24.2 per cent reported dealing with cyber-bullying and 15.1 per cent had seen homophobic or transphobic bullying.

Nearly one in four (24.3 per cent) had seen sexual or racial harassment by pupils.

Given a list of reasons for bad behaviour, 84.5 per cent of those polled agreed that lack of boundaries at home were to blame. Many suggested that emotional or behavioural problems were responsible, while school staff also thought that relationship breakdown within a family and a lack of positive role models at home were key reasons for poor conduct.

In addition, nearly two-thirds (64.4 per cent) thought that society becoming less respectful to people on front-line jobs was a reason for negative behaviour.

ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "Although the majority of pupils are well-behaved and a pleasure to teach, having to deal with challenging or disruptive behaviour is unfortunately par for the course for education staff.

"It is shocking that more than four in 10 (43 per cent) education professionals have had to deal with physical violence from a pupil in the last year. No member of staff should be subjected to aggressive behaviour, in any form, while doing their job."